Area students learn money matters in financial literacy programs

Old Mill High School teacher Stacy Iacono works with students in the international economics and finance exploration class. (By Shantee Woodards)

In teacher Joshua White's class, a guest speaker explained the downside to carrying a wad of cash.

Steve Ames, founder of the Financial Education Foundation of Anne Arundel County, explained the different forms of payment - checks, debit and credit cards and cash. He told the international economics and finance class that they would be better off using payment methods outside of cash because it can lead to bad spending habits.

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"When you're carrying around cash, you're going to be prone to making incidental purchases for things you don't necessarily need," Ames, a retired financial adviser, told the Old Mill High students. "You've got that cash burning a hole in your pocket."

The presentation was part of a partnership between Ames' nonprofit and Old Mill and Severna Park high schools. Through it, the nonprofit organization provides presentations to the school's themed Signature programs. Every county high school has a Signature, which is a theme chosen by the community to connect students to real-world situations. White runs Old Mill's Signature, which is international economics and finance. JoAnne Brack runs Severna Park's, which is business, innovation and leadership.

The effort began in September and the goal is to teach students proper financial habits before they enter college. The group signed on to do 12 sessions at Old Mill and three with Severna Park through this semester. Afterward, they will evaluate it and discuss possible tweaks for offering it next semester.

"One of the things that really comes across well is the idea that the earlier you start saving, the better off you'll be," said White, the Signature program facilitator at Old Mill. "Something we had to consider was knowing we had a bit of a younger audience with this particular group and how to make it something that would stick with them. Essentially, we decided it's never too early for students to get an idea of what lies ahead when it comes to having an income and balancing that income versus wants and needs."

Ames launched the Financial Education Foundation last year as a way to promote fiscal literacy to underrepresented groups such as students, military personnel, the Hispanic community and those dealing with special situations such as addiction and domestic violence. Now it has a nine-member board and has provided financial workshops around the area, including sessions at Anne Arundel Medical Center's Pathways, which offers services to those with substance and mental health issues.

Brack read about the program in The Capital and contacted Ames and White about implementing programs for Signature students. At Severna Park, students Annie Myers, Taylor Berger and Charlotte Sundel also participated in the discussions. They had already developed a website geared toward financial literacy - www.gaininterest.org - and were able to tell group members about money issues they thought students their age should know, Brack said.

"We're always looking for guest speakers to make it relevant for the students," Brack said. "We teach them (these financial literacy skills) and send them out into life. We want to make sure they're prepared so they can be successful."

Estate attorney Leanne Fryer Broyles led two sessions at Old Mill, one dealt with credit cards and the other with student loans. Many of the students seemed to perk up when they learned they could get credit cards at 18, she said.

"Our goal is to instill smarter habits in them when they're young and make them aware of how they need to act in the future to be responsible financially," said Broyles, who is a board member of the nonprofit. "The sooner you can start doing that, the younger the better … It's hard to know the value of money when you don't have it."